Just Another Cesarean Delivery in OB

It didn’t take me long to fall in love with labor and delivery. As a new graduate nurse, I was enamored with my co-workers, who seemed to know exactly what was going to happen and how every provider was going to act. Most deliveries go exactly as expected, surprisingly producing a pink and screaming baby, regardless of any circumstance that may have complicated their labor or delivery. Usually, we are presented with a perfect baby who everyone can ohhh and awww over. It’s the deliveries that don’t go expected that surge the adrenaline through our veins, stealing every ounce of our energy in its wake.

In OB, there are few emergencies that unquestionably warrant a cesarean delivery. A prolapsed cord is one of these emergencies. Compression of the umbilical cord causes the baby’s heart rate to decelerate quickly. Fresh off of orientation, I experienced my first prolapsed cord. I was standing…